Recently the web-site anna.aero did a comparison of domestic European air fares. Their scenario was that someone was told on Monday that on the following Friday he'd need to make a business trip, leaving around 8:00 and returning around 17:00. The full (and very interesting) article can be found on www.anna.aero.

The city pairs were Paris - Toulouse, London - Glasgow, Madrid - Barcelona, Munich - Berlin, Rome - Milan, Stockholm - Gothenburg and Oslo - Bergen. He would have hand baggage only and would look for the cheapest fare.

I did a very quick and cheerful comparison of those results and the comparable train journey. In most cases, the comparison is reasonable: the passenger would have a reasonably comparable amount of time at the destination whichever mode they used. The research said nothing about exact origin and destination points, although since low-cost carriers have been used some of the airports are remote from their cities. Only in the case of Oslo-Bergen would the traveller not have had much time for their meeting - although they would have experienced some glorious scenery!

If you compare rail and legacy carrier, in all cases the rail fare is less than the air fare - in four cases by over 300 Euros. Only in two cases is the difference trivial (30 - 60 Euros).

If you compare rail with a new entrant (low cost) carrier, there are 3 routes where it's cheaper by air (by 3, 24 and 63 Euros). In the rest it's between 70 and 223 Euros more expensive by air.

Fascinating!

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) produces a fortnightly newspaper, 'Passenger Transport'.

I have just finished trying to read the 27 September issue - because it comes to the UK by surface mail, it always takes a while to reach me. This issue was significantly longer than usual, because it was based around the annual meeting in San Antonio - and this made it even more unreadable than usual.

It's never very reader-friendly, but consider the content of the pages listed below and then think about reading that sequence in a crowded commuter train - as, of course, its readership is likely to.

Where I have not given a page number, it is because it only contains advertising.

Page 2 contains a complete article.
Page 3 contains one complete article and another continued on page 4.
Page 4 contains two articles continued on page 64, one from page 3 and 4 complete articles.
Page 5 start an article continued on page 6 and completed on page 7.
Page 8 contains two complete articles.
Page 9 contains an article continued on page 28.
Page 10 contains one continued on page 39.
Page 11's article is continued on page 22.
The article on page 14 is complete, as is that on page 16 and page 18.
Page 20 contains an article continued on page 28, as does page 22.
Page 24's article is continued on page 30.
Page 26 contains a complete article.
Page 28 has one article continued from page 9, one from page 20 and one from page 22.
Page 29 contains a complete article.
Page 30 has the end of the article which started on page 24.
Page 31 has one continued on page 36.
Page 32 has a complete article.
Page 33's article is continued on page 38.
Page 34 has a complete article.

Just to throw the reader completely, there is then an insert of four un-numbered pages.

Page 35 has an article continued on page 36.
Page 36 has one complete article, one continued from page 31 and one from page 35.
Page 38 has a complete article and the end of one from page 33.
Page 39 has the end of an article started on page 10 and the start of one continued on page 46.
Page 40 has 2 articles continued on page 50.
Pages 42-44 each have one complete article.
Page 46 has one complete article and one continued from page 39.
Page 47 has one continued on page 49.
Page 48 has one continued on page 50.
Page 49 has one complete article and one from page 47.
Page 50 has the end of two from page 40 and one from page 48.
Page 51 has one continued on page 52
Page 52 has the end of that article and one complete article.
Pages 53-58 each contain a complete article.
Page 59 has 4 complete articles.
Pages 60-62 contain industry leader profiles.
Finally, page 64 has two articles continued from page 4.

Why? Why? Why are so many articles split? Why is reading it such a feat of gymnastics?

As a fairly long-standing member of APTA, I am sometimes consulted on the association - its future strategy, my satisfaction with the way it meets my needs and so on. I always comment on the unreadability of 'Passenger Transport' - its main contact with me - but have yet to see any response. Will this blog produce one?

I got to my local station this morning, crossed the footbridge and walked along the London-bound platform. As I did so, my train came in alongside - zero wait time.

I changed from main line to Underground at West Hampstead. As I came down the steps at West Hampstead underground station, a southbound train was in the platform waiting for me. Zero wait time.

I changed again between underground lines at Baker St. Just as I got to the northbound platform, in came a train! Zero wait time.

Wow! Public transport works - and all this on a day when the free newspaper Metro was talking about some commuter trips taking longer than in 1906!

Delhi's Indira Ghandi International Airport is to get what is described as 'rail connectivity' by mid-November, the Indian government has announced.

The new Airport Metro was supposed to have opened in time for the Commonwealth Games. This did not prove possible, and a date of mid-October has also been missed.

The line is to run from New Delhi's main station to the airport and then on to Dwarka where there will be an end-on connection with Line 3 of the Metro. Inter-working will not be possible because the airport line has been built with standard gauge track and Line 3, in common with the rest of the metro, is built on the Indian 1676mm gauge.

Two downtown stations are to have full hold baggage check-in - particularly valuable since baggage is routinely screened (and passengers have to go through an x-ray detector arch) when entering the Metro. A third station is to have check-in facilities, but not for hold baggage.

How much of the line will actually be in service on 14 November is debateable: the phrase 'rail connectivity' is a slightly odd one.

India's main domestic airlines wanted a firm date when they could transfer to the new Terminal 3, and airport ground access was key to this.

The announcement can be found on
the Indian Government Press Information Bureau's web-site.

I was interested by the story at the end of last month about the decline in road traffic using the Severn Crossing between South Wales and England.

Recently there has been a 20% decline in vehicular traffic on the bridge.

Inevitably, unemployment and fuel costs have been blamed.

However, apparently coach companies are offering round-trip fares between Cardiff and London at less than the cost of the toll for a car to cross the bridge. In June, National Express added two Cardiff - London round trips each day: it now provides 28 departures each way most days, with 36 on Fridays and Saturdays.

The train operator First Great Western has seen major traffic growth - an increase of 8% in three months between Cardiff and Bristol, 16.5% in two years between Severn Tunnel Junction and Avon and London - although only 1.5% in three months between South Wales and London.

Interesting! The story is in the Wales On Line website.

I recently managed by sheer chance to catch one of the new trains acquired to work on London Underground's Victoria Line - and I was impressed.

Externally it is reminiscent of the Central Line trains, with big doors covering much of the external body when open. However, there are also external LED displays with destination and next station information above head height between the doors.

The interior is bright and clean with cheerful blue and green seats in a variety of configurations. I happened to get into the car with multi-functional space for at least two wheelchairs. It can be used for luggage and has tip-up seats which are usable when the space is not needed by wheelchair-bound passengers.

The interior LED display also shows destination and next station information.

Something I noticed when getting out was that the platform had been raised by the point where that car stopped to give easier wheelchair access and egress. Indeed, perversely, I almost tripped because I was expecting a step down!

I was in a hurry, and unable to inspect the train thoroughly, but I liked what I saw.

I liked the new feature on Manchester Airport's web-site, My Airport Guide (and was it coincidence that this has the same acronym as Manchester Airport Group?).

You can specify whether you are arriving, departing, transferring, picking up or dropping off; and you then get directed to other options specific to your choice.

If you are departing, for example, you are asked for your airline and are then told which terminal it uses and how to reach the airport (with a link to a map of the extensive rail network). You are also given information about checking in and lounges, a plan of the terminal and a guide to your destination.

Look at Manchester Airport's web-site

Excellent!

Passengers using the Virginia Railway Express, a commuter line running south and west of Washington DC, have been told that if they are not on the platform when the train is ready to go, it won't wait.

Similarly conductors have been told that they must not delay a train if they see a passenger running for it.

When should you delay a train for passengers?

VRE's service is not exactly frequent - it isn't a case of just having to wait 5 minutes for the next one - so this may be seen as rather more harsh than it would be on a European railway. On the other hand, it is likely that many passengers would be delayed for a late-running few, so a punctual departure is in the interests of the majority.

It is unlikely that a late-running train would delay connections and other services. Again, unlike the situation in Europe, trains are not that frequent and the network is not that complex.

Passengers have been told clearly that they must be on the platform 5-10 minutes before scheduled departure time to ensure that they catch their train: this policy seems generally fair and reasonable.

The transport spokesman for the Liberal National Party coalition in Australia is a Mr. Warren Truss.

Coincidentally the Warren Truss is a type of bridge much in use on railways!